[Image: Photo of the Northeast Research Station office]The Northeast Research Station at St. Joseph is in the Mississippi River alluvial floodplain in Tensas Parish, where soils are among the most fertile and productive in the world. The establishment of the Northeast Station in 1929 was a cooperative effort by the police juries of the 11 parishes in northeast Louisiana that provided almost $33,000 for construction of the facilities. Tensas Parish contributed 160 acres with the provision that LSU establish and operate a branch experiment station. Additional land was purchased over the years, increasing the size of the station to about 600 acres.
The annual research reports from the early years of the Northeast Research Station reveal that the problems faced by producers then were much the same as today and the focus of the research was similar. Much of the research focused on weed management, insect control, fertilization, crop rotation, cover crops, etc. For the past 70 years, the face of agriculture in this part of the state has changed dramatically, but the fundamental problems remain essentially the same. American agriculture has evolved from many small family farms to a few large commercial enterprises. Today, few Americans are directly involved with crop production. For better or worse, agricultural research and technology have helped to make this change possible. As environmental, biological and economic conditions continue to evolve, agricultural research will be necessary to develop the technology needed to allow Louisiana's producers to compete with other producers, domestic and abroad.
Personnel at the St. Joseph location include the resident director, five project leaders/scientists, seven research associates and 13 full-time classified employees. The senior scientists include two weed scientists (Dr. Donnie Miller and Dr. Bill Williams), two agronomists (Dr. Rick Mascagni and Dr. Ernest Clawson) and entomologist Gene Burris. The station also employs numerous high school and university students who help scientists with research programs and/or conduct research toward their graduate degrees.
Burris spends most of his research time developing effective and economical insect management programs for cotton and other agronomic crops. Cotton is a host for many insect pests, including cutworms, thrips, aphids, tarnished plant bugs, flea hoppers, boll weevils, bollworms, tobacco budworms, several species of armyworms, loopers, etc. In recent years, Burris has emphasized managing early to mid-season pests including thrips and tarnished plant bugs. One of his projects involves identifying the species of thrips that infest cotton. His research has shown that the species of thrips infesting cotton often varies across the state. This is important because some species are much more difficult to control with insecticides than others.
Another objective of his research is to determine the efficacy of various seed treatments and in-furrow insecticides for early season insect control. These experiments typically involve materials labeled for use in cotton as well as experimental compounds in various stages of development. Burris and his co-workers also conduct studies to determine the effects of soil type and soil moisture on efficacy of seed treatments and in-furrow insecticides. This research is needed to assist producers in selecting the most cost-effective material for their soil and production systems. He spends considerable time evaluating labeled and experimental insecticides for control of tarnished plant bugs and other insects in cotton. This research is critical because plant bugs and several other pests have become increasingly resistant to many of the insecticides used for their control. In addition, the wide scale planting of Bt cotton has changed the status of several insect pests.
Dr. Ernest Clawson researches cotton and soybean agronomic production practices. All studies attempt to address techniques affecting the economic and environmental well-being of the Northeast Louisiana agriculture industry. Primary focuses of this program include variety testing, irrigation and soil fertility. Both cotton and soybean variety tests at St. Joseph are part of a coordinated effort among researchers. These programs identify and recommend superior cotton and soybean varieties. Cotton varieties under consideration are evaluated on the basis of yield, fiber quality and other parameters of adaptability. Soybean varieties are assessed on the basis of yield, maturity, disease resistance and other agronomic traits.
Cotton and soybean irrigation studies take place mainly on the productive alluvial soils of Northeast Louisiana. Irrigation frequency treatments help to determine potential crop yield and quality under different soil moisture regimes. Optimal potassium and nitrogen requirements for cotton also are under examination. Several genetically diverse cotton varieties with various amounts of potassium soil amendments are scrutinized to see if fertilizer applications could be tailored for specific varieties. In-season plant tissue analyses are studied in an effort to develop timely application schedules of foliar nutrients that will optimize cotton productivity.
Dr. Rick Mascagni is responsible for the agronomic research with corn, grain sorghum and small grains. His office is at St. Joseph, but he splits his research time almost equally between the Northeast and Macon Ridge locations. About one-third of his time is spent on variety and strains evaluations with these crops. In addition, he has initiated several studies to define the optimum combinations of hybrid/variety, planting date, fertilization rate and plant population to maximize yields and profits of corn and wheat. He and his co-workers also conduct studies to determine the effects of corn genetics, fertilization, irrigation and other factors on yields and incidence of aflatoxin in corn. We hope this will lead to the development of improved varieties and production practices that minimize the threat from this disease.
Dr. Donnie Miller and Dr. Bill Williams conduct weed science research at both locations of the Northeast Research Station. Miller works with cotton and soybean; Williams works with corn, rice and small grains. Current weed science research is focused on developing more effective and economical methods for controlling weeds using all available technologies and combinations. Considerable emphasis is placed on developing comprehensive weed management programs that optimize the efficacy and economic benefits of new transgenic crop varieties including Roundup Ready, Liberty Link, Clearfield, Buctril tolerance, etc. Other studies are conducted to define the spectrum of activity and effective rates of experimental compounds developed by various agrichemical companies. In most instances, research has shown that the most effective weed control programs include a combination of new and older technologies that broadens the spectrum of weed control, improves consistency under a range of environmental conditions and minimizes cost.
In addition, Miller conducts research evaluating the efficacy of labeled and experimental products for cotton defoliation and harvest aid.